Ed Sheeran says it’s “important to be honest” about the highs and the lows of his marriage in his music.
The 34-year-old musician – who has daughters Lyra, five, and two-year-old Jupiter with his wife Cherry Seaborn – has released straight-up love ballads like Perfect and Thinking Out Loud, but he’s also written about “real conflict” in his relationship on more recent songs Regrets and War Game.
Speaking at a surprise Q+A with Nihal Arthanayake hosted by Spotify at London’s immersive Lightroom space on Tuesday (16.09.25), Sheeran said: “Cherry knows I write about everything — not just the good stuff. Songs like Perfect exist, but so do the ones about real conflict. That’s part of any relationship, and I think it’s important to be honest about it.”
The fan event was to promote his latest album, Play, and Sheeran stepped outside for a surprise street performance in King’s Cross where he belted out the track Camera from the LP.
Sheeran also spoke about getting angry on the track A Little More: “That feeling’s been living inside me since I got successful. I’ve tried to write that song for years, but this was the first time it felt right and releasing it helped me move on.”
Elsewhere, the Bad Habits hitmaker insists he would never make music just to keep his “fanbase happy”.
He explained: “If I made my first album [2011’s +] again just to make my fanbase happy, I wouldn’t be excited. And if I’m not excited, the result won’t connect. I have to be obsessed with the music first.”
To promote Play, Sheeran is set to embark on the Loop Tour in December 2025 across Europe and Oceania.